


stuck on the puzzle

by gracingyourskin



Category: Falsettos - Lapine/Finn
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Getting Back Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Rating May Change, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-07-05
Updated: 2018-07-11
Packaged: 2019-06-05 18:54:19
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 1,989
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15177110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/gracingyourskin/pseuds/gracingyourskin
Summary: “You know, he’s been really excited about playing baseball ever since you came to his game,” Marvin says with a smile, “he used to hate it.”Whizzer fights to keep a neutral expression on his face at that.Marvin’s voice is softer as he speaks, “He really missed you.”There’s a touch of wistfulness in Marvin’s tone. Whizzer knows Jason isn’t the only one who missed him.





	1. coffee.

**Author's Note:**

> i've been kicking this idea around for awhile but i've been wanting to write a slow burn fic about marvin and whizzer getting back together (and try to make it realistic as possible) and here it finally is. i'm hoping to update every other week.

Whizzer takes another shaky breath before pushing the door to the cafe open. The bell rings as he enters, signaling a new customer. Whizzer’s eyes scan the crowded cafe and he notes that no one takes the time of day to look at him. Everyone is seemingly to preoccupied to care... everyone but _him._  Whizzer locks eyes with Marvin for a brief moment before quickly turning his attention to the menu on the wall.   
  
Whizzer can’t help but to steal a few glances at the man as he waits in line. He looks about the same as the last time he saw him - but more put together. Whizzer doesn’t know what shocks him more, how unbelievably attractive he still finds him after _everything_  or the fact he clearly put effort into picking his outfit today.   
  
Once Whizzer’s drink is ordered and in hand he takes his sweet time walking over to the table.  
  
Marvin jumps to his feet as soon as Whizzer sets his cup down.  
  
“Whizzer.” He says in greeting, though it comes out sounding more surprised than probably intended—  as if he didn’t think Whizzer would actually show.  
  
Marvin outstretches his hand to him.  
  
“Marvin.” Whizzer responds, raising a brow.  
  
Whizzer hesitantly accepts his outstretched hand and pretends that the clamminess he feels is all Marvin.  
  
An awkward silence falls over them as they take their seats. Marvin, of course, is the one to break it.  
  
“How have you been?”  
  
It’s such a cliche thing to ask but the question still catches him off guard. Whizzer wants to laugh.   
  
_How has he been?_  
  
“I’ve been good.”  
  
Marvin seems to perk up at that.  
  
“That’s good.”  
  
Whizzer takes a sip of his coffee before continuing.  
  
“I was homeless for awhile.”  
  
Marvin’s face instantly falls.  
  
“My friend, you know, the bar owner?” Whizzer’s tone is pointed, “He took me in after some time... let me pick up shifts as a bartender and sleep in the back.”  
  
The guilt on Marvin’s face is almost unbearable, causing Whizzer to drop his gaze to the table.   
  
“I busted ass for a long time, working as often as I could, even picked up a second job, just so I could afford the rent for a shitty apartment.”  
  
It feels as though all the air has been sucked out of the room and Whizzer watches as Marvin uncomfortably shifts in his seat.  
  
Marvin goes to open his mouth but no sound comes out at first.  
  
“Whizzer, I-“  
  
Whizzer sets his cup down on the table with force.  
  
_“I don’t need your sympathy, Marvin.”_  Whizzer’s voice seethes with venom.   
  
He can tell that Marvin is a bit taken back at his words but instead of getting angry and spouting off a snappy retort - he closes his mouth and let’s Whizzer finish.  
  
“Like I said. I’m good,” Whizzer takes a moment to regain his composure, “I work in a studio now.”  
  
Whizzer doesn’t know why he’s sharing this information or  _why_  he’s now reaching into his coat pocket to retrieve a business card but the professionalism of it feels good. Marvin from 2 years ago thought Whizzer was only capable of being a housewife, he would have mocked him if he had tried to get a job, especially one of this skill set. But now _this_  Marvin was staring at his business card as if it were the 8th World Wonder.  
  
Marvin’s attention is soon back on Whizzer and he’s looking at him with such fondness and _pride_  that Whizzer _almost_  flushes.  
  
“This is great, Whizzer.”  
  
_Maybe he has changed._  
  
A storm of feelings arise in Whizzer’s chest and he _desperately_  needs to redirect the conversation.   
  
“How about you? How have you been?” Whizzer asks with a casual air, though it feels abrupt. If Marvin noticed, he sure didn’t let on.  
  
“A lot has changed over the past 2 years.”  
  
_What an understatement._  
  
“Trina and I can actually stand being in the same room as one another now-“  
  
Whizzer snorts.  
  
Marvin ignores it.  
  
“We’re nowhere near being friends, nor do I think we ever will be, but it’s nice to not constantly be screaming at one another. Especially for Jason’s sake.”  
  
Whizzer sits up at the mention of Jason’s name.  
  
“How is he, by the way?”  
  
Really, the highlight of Whizzer’s whole week had been seeing Jason. He had only heard from the kid a handful of times after he and Marvin separated and he  _missed_  him. Despite how toxic that period of his life was, he was forever grateful for the relationship he had with Jason. Whizzer knew at the time he was invited that Marvin would be there but if anyone were to ask him; his only motivation to go was to support Jason.  
  
“Jason is doing well, he’s making friends and is captain of his own unofficial chess club.” Marvin laughs lightly at the thought and Whizzer realizes in that moment just how much he missed that sound.  
  
_Fuck._  
  
“You know, he’s been really excited about playing baseball ever since you came to his game,” Marvin says with a smile, “he used to hate it.”  
  
Whizzer fights to keep a neutral expression on his face at that.   
  
Marvin’s voice is softer as he speaks, “He really missed you.”  
  
There’s a touch of wistfulness in Marvin’s tone. Whizzer knows Jason isn’t the only one who missed him.  
  
“I missed him too.” Whizzer responds truthfully, wishing it hadn’t come out as a whisper.  
  
_Way to be vulnerable, Whizzer._  
  
Marvin fidgets with his hands for a moment before looking at Whizzer as if he needs permission to talk again. Whizzer says nothing.  
  
“Speaking of which— I have the best neighbors now,” Marvin continues, “Charlotte and Cordelia. Jason loves them.”  
  
A pause.  
  
“You should meet them sometime.”  
  
Whizzer’s grip on his cup goes stiff.  
  
Marvin sounds genuinely happy— and despite this grudge that Whizzer is holding onto that he promised himself he wouldn’t let go of, he can’t bring himself to turn him down.  
  
“Maybe.” Whizzer says weakly.  
  
_Since when did he care about sparing his feelings?_  
  
The corner of Marvin’s lips twitch up into a small smile before falling as a more serious expression washes over his face.  
  
Marvin takes a deep breath.   
  
Whizzer knows what’s coming.  
  
“So much of my life is finally falling into place... and yet it feels like something is missing.”  
  
Marvin is looking down at his hands on the table now.  
  
“I know I’m not deserving of anymore of your time. I know nothing I say can change the past...”   
  
Whizzer can practically see the gears turning in Marvin’s head and recognizes that he’s carefully selecting his words.  
  
“I’m not asking you to forgive me- I want to prove to you that I’m willing to put the time and effort into making this relationship work.”  
  
Everything has been leading up to this moment and once actually finding himself in it, Whizzer doesn't know what to say. He has imagined this scenario a thousand times before in his head: Marvin would ask to get back together and he would say no. _He would always say no._  But now he was unsure.  
  
Marvin lifts his head and for the first time since they sat down their eyes finally meet. There’s an intense amount of hope in Marvin’s eyes and Whizzer blames this for what he says next.  
  
“I’ll think about it.”  
  
As soon as the words leave his mouth he feels as if he’s betrayed himself, _he should know better_ , but the relief that spreads across Marvin’s face followed by _that_  smile was worth it in itself.   
  
This was not how he expected today to go.  
  
“It was nice seeing you again, Marvin.” Whizzer says, his tone as guarded as ever, as he suddenly stands up.  
  
Marvin scrambles to get on his feet, nearly knocking his coffee- that has gone untouched the whole conversation- over in the process.  
  
Whizzer bites his lip to hold back a laugh.  
  
_God, he was endearing._  
  
Marvin opens his arms to Whizzer for a hug.  
  
Whizzer’s breath catches in his throat at the gesture.  
  
_What the fuck was he doing?_  
  
Whizzer stands there with a blank expression on his face. He blinks.  
  
Marvin awkwardly drops his arms upon realizing his mistake.  
  
“I— Uh— I’m sorry. See you next week?” Marvin tries as he scratches at the back of his neck.  
  
Whizzer hesitates, _could he possibly back out of this already?_ , before finally deciding on a simple nod.  
  
And with that, Whizzer leaves, wondering if he made the right decision.


	2. texts.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> here's an early update!! sorry it's a little shorter but i hope the next chapter makes up for that. i was originally planning on updating every other week but it looks like my update schedule is just gonna be a bit sporadic.

Whizzer knew what he was doing when he gave Marvin _his_  business card with _his_  cell phone number printed across the front. It still didn’t surprise him any less to wake up to a text from Marvin.  
  
_**Unknown Number, 11:35pm**: Hello, It’s Marvin. Thank you for talking with me today, I hope to see you again soon._  
  
Whizzer swings his legs over the side of the bed, re-reading Marvin’s message over and over again.  
  
_He really couldn’t wait 24 hours, huh?_  
  
Whizzer let’s out an exasperated sigh as he rubs at his face. He could just block Marvin’s number and forget this ever happened. Or he could lie and say he has the wrong number. After another minute of staring at the words on his screen, he decides that he’ll just deal with it _later._  
  
Whizzer tosses his phone onto the bed with a groan before heading into the bathroom, ready to start his day and _totally not dwell over Marvin._

 

* * *

  
  
Throughout the day Whizzer finds himself a bit more jumpy at the familiar buzz of his phone, every notification filling him with either excitement or dread. It isn’t until his lunch break that he decides that _yeah, this is definitely messing with his head_  and he should _probably_ just turn him down so he won’t have to think about getting texts from him anymore.  
  
On a whim, Whizzer opens his messages and begins to type out a response.  
  
_Hey Marvin..._  
  
Whizzer huffs. _Lame._  
  
_“I hope to see you again soon.”_ The words echoed through his mind.  
  
_Hey Marvin, I’m sorry but I don’t think we should see each other anymore._  
  
Whizzer squints at his phone as if it were silently judging him. His thumb hovers over _Send..._  
  
_Inhale. Exhale._  
  
He curses himself as he holds down the backspace instead.  
  
_Hey Marvin..._  
  
Back to square one.  
  
_Why_   _couldn’t he bring himself to turn him down no matter how much he told himself he wanted to?_   Was he _really_ just sparing Marvin’s feelings or was something else- _No._  
  
Whizzer sets his phone down before stabbing his fork into his salad in frustration.  
  
_Later_.  
  


* * *

  
  
Whizzer shrugs his coat off upon entering his apartment. Luckily the rest of the day had been pretty busy and kept him preoccupied - but now as he was stripping himself of his work clothes and making a cup of tea to wind down with, his thoughts were trailing back to _him_. It’s in that moment he realizes that he never did respond to Marvin’s text.   
  
_Fuck._  
  
It was nearly  9pm, Marvin _had_  to think he was a huge asshole for waiting so long.  
  
Whizzer takes a sip of his tea as he weighs his options for what feels like the hundredth time that week. _Was seeing Marvin again really that bad of an idea?_   It’s not like he had a ton of plans nowadays. Plus, seeing Marvin so nervous was kind of amusing. _But_ at the same time it brought back memories of a time in his life he had tried so desperately to forget.   
  
Whizzer glances at the clock on his stove — _8:45pm_ — before snatching his phone off the counter.  
  
_Just get this over with and you won’t have to see him ever again._  
  


* * *

  
  
_**Marvin (Ex)** : Hello, It’s Marvin. Thank you for talking with me today, I hope to see you again soon._  
  
_Hey Marvin, meet me at Washington Square Park @ 12pm next Sunday?_

**Author's Note:**

> thank you for reading!! any feedback is greatly appreciated. :)
> 
>  
> 
> [title is named after the song by alex turner.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TKvzHBdcAdM)


End file.
